US Military hardware easy to buy
- Thread starter Colin1
- Start date
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wheelsup_cavu
1st Sergeant
Sadly I am not surprised by this report.
We as a society are more worried about the almighty dollar than our own safety.
Too many times in the past we have supplied the weapons to those who would become our enemies.
Wheelsup
We as a society are more worried about the almighty dollar than our own safety.
Too many times in the past we have supplied the weapons to those who would become our enemies.
Wheelsup
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Actually that report is a bunch of BS. Inclinometers? And an F-16 "engine computer?" Specifics - the stuff shown is actually pretty basic hardware and while I agree in specific applications some of these basic electronic devices need to be control, this report is a vague as a fog. More media hype than fact, at least shown in the report.
BombTaxi
Tech Sergeant
I think the key difficulty is that a lot of material has legitimate civilian uses, as well as applications in weaponry - in fact, I get the impression that the problem isn't with folks buying actual weapons, it's with them buying apparently innocent items which can then be used in improvised weapons. Problem is, how do you stop that trade without harming your own economy? It's a win-win for the bad guys really, they either buy bomb parts off you, of watch you cripple your own economy in an attempt to stop the flow of material being exported.
I do agree that there is a lot of fluff in that report though. I doubt Al-Qaeda would have much use for an F-16 engine computer, or that their planning to build mini-missile. What I find infinitely more worrying is the prospect of them getting hold of nukes (or the material to make one) from another state or on the black market...
I do agree that there is a lot of fluff in that report though. I doubt Al-Qaeda would have much use for an F-16 engine computer, or that their planning to build mini-missile. What I find infinitely more worrying is the prospect of them getting hold of nukes (or the material to make one) from another state or on the black market...
swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 3,954
- Jun 25, 2013
Leaving aside dual-use hardware and components that aren't application specific, this sort of thing has probably been going on for far longer than we think. Neglecting clandestine, government-approved military equipment transfers to non-state actors, corrupt people out of and in uniform have sold stuff out of warehouses. When I worked at Lycoming-Stratford, there was more than one case of T-53s and T-55s built out of parts that had been stolen out of military and civilian storage facilities coming in for warranty service. Lycoming, like every good aviation company, kept very good records.
